Change is Hard but Impossible
to Avoid

Brandon Sun “Small
World” Column, Monday, March 30 / 15Zack
Gross

Life
has a habit of telling you that you are not keeping up with the modern
world! As someone who is always among students, business folks,
politicians and others who are active and engaged in day to day life,
my assumptions in life are often challenged. And this is coming
from a guy who is active in social issues, often pushing others to move
their thinking forward.

Here's an example. A recent
immigrant to Manitoba from Nigeria, West Africa, a young man with good
English, came to my office to ask me about opportunities to find work
in his field. I was friendly and interested to meet him, but
assumed that he had few skills and little education. Was I being
racist? Probably, in a “nice” way.

Ultimately,
after I likely insulted him with my assumptions for a good while, he
handed me his resume which clearly showed that he is better educated
(and from better institutions) than I am! After he left the office, I
confided my error to a colleague who is also from Africa and she said,
“Well, at least you realize it and have learned something”. Many
people, she said, never realize that their biases are just that –
biases – and immigrants have to endure these slights every day.

In
my work in Winnipeg, I do a lot of speaking in university and college
classrooms. So many of the students are from Asia and Africa, or
of aboriginal origin here in Canada. They are proud of where they
come from and add a new and interesting aspect to the classroom
experience. They share their histories and challenges with one
another, as well as recipes, fashions and music!

Another
example. So many of us travel now, for winter vacations or as
part of our jobs, to Mexico, Australia, Europe, China, you name
it! But how many of us really take the time to connect with
“ordinary” people in these countries (if we can) or to consider how
their culture works or why they do things the way they do. I tire
of hearing folks who have spent a week in a resort down south ranting
about how folks in a certain country need to get organized, pull up
their socks, be smarter and so on.

But, it's hard for us not to
think that because we are well off (compared to the rest of the world),
we know best. Indeed, many of us likely still think that being of
European stock contributes to our dominance in the world, and they are
correct! But not in a good way. As a celebrated
contemporary author tells us, it was guns, germs and steel that got us
to where we are today.

One has to congratulate Brandon which has
been transformed – and seemingly peaceably – over the past decade with
a wave of migrants from around the world. As I was walking along
Rosser Avenue recently, I was struck by conversations around me –
mostly in Spanish! When my wife and I first moved to the Brandon
area thirty-five years ago, it seemed that the area would always keep
its traditional white, English ways. Now I hear the praises of
business people and professionals from Asia, workers from Latin
America, and students from Africa.

The struggle for many
immigrants in Manitoba includes isolation from their religious
institutions and education and a feeling that the rest of us see that
background, likely Muslim, as a negative. Of course, our weather
is another challenge. Our recent brief ice, snow and wind event
sent a shiver of paranoia and depression through immigrant communities
across the province! So, change comes hard for them, too.

Speaking
of global warming, that's another issue that people find hard to change
their minds on. But evidence shows that Canadians are taking on
the issue and are willing to change how they do things. When
Danielle Smith, the Leader of the Wild Rose Party, just before
Alberta's last election, opined that she didn't really buy the science
of climate change, she suddenly dropped to second place in the polls
and lost the vote. Now, their party has merged with the
Conservatives and she is an ordinary MLA.

In the USA, long a
bastion of wishful thinking, two-thirds of the population now believe
that global warming is a human-made reality. However, only about
a third would vote only for a candidate that expresses concern over the
issue. Others don't see it as that big a priority. How can
we change people's minds about their consumption habits? The UN
says that if everyone on Earth lived like Canadians, we would need four
planets to provide what everyone expects. And this is the cause
of global warming.

The time change happened not too long ago,
and the seasonal change to spring is now underway. As we again
enjoy the return of wonders of the natural world – beautiful flower and
vegetable gardens, lakes and beaches, long and warm summer days – let's
change our habits to make sure that people and the planet are treated
well.Zack Gross is a
former Executive Director of the Marquis Project
in Brandon.